Refrigerator having ice transfer unit

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator includes: a refrigerator main body including a freezing chamber positioned at a lower portion thereof and a refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper portion thereof; an ice maker and an ice bank positioned at an inner side of the freezing chamber; an ice dispenser positioned at an inner side of the refrigerating chamber; a transfer flow path extending from the ice bank to the ice dispenser; an ice input unit supplying ice stored in the ice bank to the interior of the transfer flow path; and a blower blowing air to allow the ice supplied to the interior of the ice transfer flow path toward the ice dispenser.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0072604, filed on Jul. 27, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an ice transfer unit and, more particularly, to a refrigerator having an ice transfer unit for transferring ice between a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a refrigerator includes a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber which are maintained at different temperatures. Meanwhile, various types of refrigerators each including a different number of freezing chambers and refrigerating chambers and a different disposition form are in the market, and so-called bottom freezer type refrigerators in which the mainly used refrigerating chamber is disposed at an upper portion and the freezing chamber is disposed at a lower portion are commonly used. Some of the bottom freezer type refrigerators include an ice maker for making ice and a dispenser for dispensing ice to the outside of a door, and in this case, for the sake of convenience, the ice maker and the dispenser are installed at an upper portion of the refrigerator, namely, at the refrigerating chamber door.

However, when the ice maker is disposed at the refrigerating chamber side maintained at an above zero temperature, the ice kept in storage is melt and clustered together or cling to each other after ice making is performed. Thus, in order to solve this problem, an insulation space maintained at a below zero temperature is provided within the refrigerating chamber, and the ice maker and an ice bank for keeping ice in storage are positioned within the insulation space, thus preventing ice from being melt.

However, such an insulation space occupies a large space in the refrigerating chamber, and restrains the internal space of the refrigerating chamber from being effectively used. Alternatively, the ice maker may be positioned in the freezing chamber and ice may be taken out by opening a freezing chamber door, but it has low user convenience and, in particular, the user must take out ice by bending his waist.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, in order to address the above matters, the various features described herein have been conceived.

An aspect of the present invention provides a refrigerator capable of enhancing user convenience while keeping ice in storage such that it is not melt.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including: a refrigerator main body including a freezing chamber positioned at a lower portion thereof and a refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper portion thereof; an ice maker and an ice bank positioned at an inner side of the freezing chamber; an ice dispenser positioned at an inner side of the refrigerating chamber; a transfer flow path extending from the ice bank to the ice dispenser; an ice input unit supplying ice stored in the ice bank to the interior of the transfer flow path; and a blower blowing air to allow the ice supplied to the interior of the ice transfer flow path toward the ice dispenser.

Since both the ice maker for making ice and the ice bank for keeping ice in storage are positioned in the freezing chamber, ice can be prevented from melting to cling to each other. In addition, when necessary, ice can be supplied to the ice dispenser installed in the refrigerating chamber by a transfer unit so as to be dispensed from the refrigerating chamber. Here, the ice is moved toward the ice dispenser by air pressure, so the configuration can be simplified and the ice transfer path can be freely set.

Meanwhile, the refrigerator may further include a return flow path extending from the ice dispenser to the ice bank, and it may be set such that air blown through the transfer flow path is returned to the blower through the return flow path. Air supplied from the freezing chamber through the transfer flow path may be discharged to the interior of the refrigerating chamber so as to be used to maintain the temperature of the refrigerating chamber or may be returned to the freezing chamber through the return flow path.

Here, the transfer flow path and the return flow path may be installed to be exposed from the interior of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber or may be buried in an inner wall of the main body. When the transfer flow path and the return flow path are buried, an effective volume of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber can be increased.

Meanwhile, the ice input unit may include: an ice input path connected with the ice bank; an auger for pushing ice, which is input through the ice input path, into the interior of an input hole formed on the transfer flow path; and a damper for selectively opening and closing the input hole.

Ice made by the ice maker may have a pressure receiving portion formed to be recessed. The pressure receiving portion may serve to lower a bulk density of ice to thus allow ice to be transferred even with a small wind pressure as well as to allow ice to be stably transferred by air pressure.

The ice may have a shape of a truncated cone or a spherical shape.

Meanwhile, a suction opening of the transfer flow path and a discharge hole of the return flow path may be disposed to be spaced apart in the interior of the freezing chamber, or may be connected by using a space interposed therebetween.

Here, the space may serve as a blow fan installation unit, or the blow fan may be installed at an inner side of the blow fan installation unit.

Meanwhile, an ice support portion for supporting supplied ice may be provided in the interior of the transfer flow path, and the ice support portion may be formed to allow air to pass therethrough. Here, the ice support portion may be made of a mesh material.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the internal space of the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber can be effectively used, and since ice can be taken out of the refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper portion of the refrigerator, user convenience can be improved.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing an internal structure of the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a portion of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state in which ice is transferred from the interior of the refrigerator in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A refrigerator having an ice transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing an internal structure of the refrigerator of FIG. 1. The refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1 is a so-called French door type refrigerator in which a refrigerating chamber is disposed at an upper portion and a freezing chamber is disposed at a lower portion, and the refrigerating chamber is opened and closed by two doors. Here, refrigerating chamber does not necessarily have two doors, and the refrigerating chamber may be open or closed by a single door.

As illustrated, the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, a freezing chamber 2 for freezing and keeping food items in storage is formed at a lower portion of the refrigerator main body 1, and a refrigerating chamber 3 for refrigerating and keeping food items in storage is formed at an upper portion of the refrigerator main body 1. One freezing chamber door 4 for opening and closing the freezing chamber 2 in a drawer manner is installed at the freezing chamber 2, and a plurality of refrigerating chamber doors 5 are installed at both sides of the refrigerating chamber 3 in order to open and close the refrigerating chamber 3 in a hinged manner from both sides. A mechanic chamber 6 in which a compressor 10 and a condenser 12 are installed is positioned at a lower end of a rear face of the refrigerator main body 1.

An evaporator (not shown) connected to the condenser and the compressor and supplying cooling air (or cold air) to the freezing chamber 2 or the refrigerating chamber 3 is generally installed between an outer case and an inner case at the rear face of the refrigerator main body 1, namely, at a rear wall face of the freezing chamber. However, the evaporator may be insertedly installed in the interior of a side wall face or an upper side wall face of the freezing chamber or may be insertedly installed in the interior of a barrier demarcating the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3. Only one evaporator may be installed in the freezing chamber to distributedly supply cooling air to the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3, or a freezing chamber evaporator and a refrigerating chamber evaporator may be separately installed and independently supply cooling air to the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3.

A chute 100 is installed at an inner face of the refrigerating chamber door 4, and ice made by an ice maker 160 installed in the freezing chamber 3 is introduced into the chute 100. An ice dispenser 150 is installed at a lower side of the chute 100. Two holes are formed at a side face of the chute 100. A hole positioned at an upper portion corresponds to an ice inlet 102 allowing ice made in an ice making chamber to be introduced into the interior of the chute 100 therethrough, and a hole positioned at a lower portion corresponds to an exhaust hole 104 for exhausting air transferred along with ice through the ice inlet 102.

The ice dispenser 150 serves to supply ice introduced into the interior of the chute 100 to the outside of the door, and as shown in FIG. 2, a supply damper 106 is installed at a connection portion connecting the chute 100 and the ice dispenser 150. Supply of ice introduced into the chute 100 can be controlled according to opening and closing of the ice supply damper 106.

In the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, when a load is detected in the freezing chamber 2 or the refrigerating chamber 3, the compressor is operated to generate cooling air from the evaporator, and a portion of the cooling air is distributedly supplied to the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3 to maintain the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber at different temperatures. Here, the cooling air supplied to the freezing chamber 2 enables the ice maker 160 to make ice.

Meanwhile, ice made by the ice maker 160 is stored in an ice bank 170 positioned at a lower side of the ice maker 160. The ice bank 170 is positioned together with the ice maker 160 in the interior of the freezing chamber, it is not affected by an external temperature so the ice can be kept in an initial frozen stage without being melt.

In the embodiment, as described above, the ice bank 170 and the ice dispenser 150 are spaced apart, so a transfer unit for transferring the ice stored in the ice bank 170 to the ice dispenser 150 when necessary is additionally installed. The transfer unit includes a transfer duct 110 and a return duct (or a restoration duct) 120 buried between the inner case and the outer case of the refrigerator main body 1, and includes a blow fan 180 forming air pressure in the interior of the transfer duct 110.

In detail, one end of the transfer duct 110 is connected to the supply duct 130 installed in the interior of the freezing chamber 2, and the other end of the transfer duct 110 is connected to the ice inlet 102 formed at the chute. Here, the chute side end portion of the transfer duct 110 is exposed to the inner side of the refrigerating chamber 3, so when the refrigerator door is open, the transfer duct 110 is separated from the chute, while when the refrigerator door is closed, the transfer duct 110 is connected with the chute.

Similarly, a chute side end portion of the return duct 120 communicates with the exhaust hole 104, and the return duct 120 is configured to return air blown through the transfer duct 110 toward the freezing chamber side.

Meanwhile, dampers 112 and 122 are installed at refrigerating chamber side end portions of the transfer duct 110 and the return duct 120 in order to make the transfer duct 110 and the return duct 120 communicate with the interior of the chute 110 only when ice is transferred, thus minimizing a leakage of cooling air of the freezing chamber.

Meanwhile, a blow fan installation unit 140 is positioned at a lower side of the supply duct 130, and a blow fan 180 is installed in the interior of the blow fan installation unit. The blow fan 180 is configured as a centrifugal fan for making air flow in an axial direction of an impeller (not shown) installed therein and discharging air in a radial direction according to a rotation of the impeller. A discharge side is positioned at an end portion of the supply duct 130. In addition, a freezing chamber side end portion of the return duct 120 communicates with the interior of the blow fan installation unit 140, whereby when the blow fan 180 rotates, air existing in the return duct 120 and the blow fan installation unit 140 is sucked and strongly blown to the supply duct 130.

Thus, a closed flow path is formed by the supply duct 130, the transfer duct 110, the chute 100, the return duct 120, and the blow fan installation unit 140, and air positioned in the freezing chamber circulates along the closed flow path. Here, the blow fan 180 acts as a power source triggering air circulation along the closed flow path.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing the supply duct 130 and the blow fan installation unit 140. With reference to FIG. 3, an ice input pipe 172 communicating with the supply duct 130 is installed on a lower surface of the ice bank 170. An auger 174 is installed at a lower side of the ice input pipe 172 and supplies ice input through the ice input pipe 172 to the interior of the supply duct 130.

The auger 174 includes a spiral blade in the form of a water mill, and ice can be sequentially input to the interior of the supply duct 130 one by one according to a rotation of the blade. Also, an end portion of the spiral blade serves to close an ice input hole formed on a wall face of the supply duct 130, thus preventing air blown by the blow fan 180 from flowing to the ice input pipe 172.

Besides, a damper may be installed to open and close a connection portion connecting the supply duct 130 and the auger. The damper may be configured to be opened and closed only when ice is supplied by the auger, and may be installed to slide up and down along the supply duct 130.

Ice input by the auger 174 is placed at an upper portion of an ice support portion 132 installed within the supply duct 130. The ice support portion 113 is made of a mesh material serving to allow air blown by the blow fan 180 to pass therethrough and support ice such that ice cannot be dropped down. However, the ice support portion 132 may not be necessarily made of a mesh material and may be formed to have a plurality of air passage holes allowing air to pass therethrough.

The operation of the embodiment will now be described.

Ice made by the ice maker 160 is kept in storage in the interior of the freezing chamber such that it is stored in the ice bank 170. Thus, because the ambience of the ice is maintained at a below zero temperature, ice kept in storage is not melt. In this state, when a user instructs to dispense ice through a manipulation panel provided in the refrigerator or through a lever (not shown), or the like, installed in the interior of the dispenser, the blow fan 180 and the auger 174 are operated by a controller (not shown) installed in the interior of the refrigerator.

In detail, when the controller detects that there is an instruction of dispensing ice, the controller operates the blow fan 180 to allow air to circulate along the closed flow path formed by the supply duct 130, the transfer duct 110, the chute 100, the return duct 120, and the blow fan installation unit 140. At this time, the dampers 112 and 122 installed and the refrigerating chamber side end portions of the transfer duct 110 and the return duct 120 are maintained in an open state.

Thereafter, when the auger 174 is operated to supply ice stored in the ice bank 170 to the interior of the supply duct 130 one by one, the ice sequentially passes through the supply duct 130 and the transfer duct 110 by air pressure generated by the blow fan 180 and then is introduced into the interior of the chute 100. Thus, ice introduced into the interior of the chute 100 is dispensed to the outside of the refrigerator through the ice dispenser 150.

The ice may be supplied only one time when there is a corresponding instruction from the user, or ice may be continuously supplied while the user is pressing a manipulation button or the lever.

Meanwhile, the ice may have a certain shape. As shown in FIG. 4, ice 20 may have a shape of a truncated cone overall and includes a pressure receiving portion 22 formed therein. The pressure receiving portion 22 is formed to be recessed from the surface of ice to allow air supplied from the blow fan 180 to be introduced thereto and thus allow ice to be easily moved along air. In addition, since a bulk density of ice is lowered owing to the presence of the pressure receiving portion 22, ice can be smoothly transferred although an air volume of the blow fan is not great.

Here, the ice is not necessarily limited to the illustrated form and may have a semi-circular shape or a spherical shape with an empty inner portion.

Also, the transfer duct and the return duct are not necessarily buried in the interior of the wall body of the refrigerator main body and may be installed to be exposed from the interior of the refrigerator.

Also, the return duct may be omitted, and cooling air of the freezing chamber supplied along with ice by the transfer duct may be discharged to the interior of the refrigerating chamber. In this case, the discharged cooling air may contribute to maintain the temperature of the refrigerating chamber.

Also, the blow fan installation unit may be omitted, and cooling air returned through the return duct may be discharged to the interior of the freezing chamber. In this case, a circulation flow path may be formed by the supply duct 130, the transfer duct 110, the chute 100, the return duct 120, and the freezing chamber.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and is therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims. 

1. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator main body including a freezing chamber positioned at a lower portion thereof and a refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper portion thereof; an ice maker and an ice bank positioned at an inner side of the freezing chamber; an ice dispenser positioned at an inner side of the refrigerating chamber; a transfer flow path extending from the ice bank to the ice dispenser; an ice input unit supplying ice stored in the ice bank to the interior of the transfer flow path; and a blower blowing air to allow the ice supplied to the interior of the ice transfer flow path toward the ice dispenser.
 2. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising: a return flow path extending from the ice dispenser to the ice bank, wherein air blown through the transfer flow path is returned to the blower through the return flow path.
 3. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the transfer flow path is buried in an inner wall of the main body.
 4. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the return flow path is buried in an inner wall of the main body.
 5. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the ice input unit comprises: an ice input path connected with the ice bank; an auger for pushing ice, which is input through the ice input path, into the interior of an input hole formed on the transfer flow path; and a damper for selectively opening and closing the input hole.
 6. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein ice made by the ice maker has a pressure receiving portion formed to be recessed.
 7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein the ice has a shape of a truncated cone
 8. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the ice has a spherical shape.
 9. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein a suction opening of the transfer flow path and a discharge hole of the return flow path communicates with each other.
 10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein a blow fan installation unit is formed at the freezing chamber side and communicates with the suction opening of the transfer flow path and the discharge hole of the return flow path, and the blow fan is installed within the blow fan installation unit.
 11. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein an ice support portion for supporting supplied ice is provided in the interior of the transfer flow path, and the ice support portion is formed to allow air to pass therethrough.
 12. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the ice support portion is made of a mesh material. 